Had no idea...

[amo_mea_filiis.]

That a dustmite allergy could be so severe!

 

My father visited and brought dd a new pillow. She loved it so she runs right upstairs to switch it with her current pillow. Within 5 minutes of removing the pillowcase and allergy cover, her eyes are swelling!

 

I had no idea that a dustmite allergy could be so severe, but i think this solves the mystery of her allergic reaction, and tells me to step up the care of her room (her carpeted room!).

 

I need to look into vacuums suited for allergies; maybe a pet type.

 

Any advice on allergy managing?

[Chris in VA]

If you use a cover with a zipper, cover the zipper with duct tape. The little buggers can crawl thru the spaces in the zipper.

[In the Rain]

Was the reaction to the new pillow, or to the old, uncovered pillow? How old was it? I take our covers off periodically, and have never had trouble, but I replace them every couple of years, and keep covers on them from day 1.

 

I don't have a secret, just lots of laundry, vacuuming, dusting and use of air purifiers. I noticed a substantial decrease in my symptoms (and then my meds) when I got a HEPA air purifier next to my bed. The hardest part for my kids was removing clutter from their rooms to make them easier to keep clean. :tongue_smilie:

[PrincessMommy]

I'd appreciate any advice too. With my teen dd it's very hard to get her to clean her room and then when she does it stirs up ALL that dust and she's miserable.

 

 

Was the reaction to the new pillow, or to the old, uncovered pillow? How old was it? I take our covers off periodically, and have never had trouble, but I replace them every couple of years, and keep covers on them from day 1.

 

I don't have a secret, just lots of laundry, vacuuming, dusting and use of air purifiers. I noticed a substantial decrease in my symptoms (and then my meds) when I got a HEPA air purifier next to my bed. The hardest part for my kids was removing clutter from their rooms to make them easier to keep clean. :tongue_smilie:

 

Which HEPA air purifier do you use?

[Jen in PA]

That sounds awful! I hope she feels better soon!

[Spryte]

DS uses a Blue Air Filter in his room, and we have one on each floor of our house. They are expensive, but have made a big difference.

 

We removed the carpet & replaced the flooring with hard floors throughout, but I know that's not always an option. We still use a HEPA vacuum, on our (very few) area rugs. DS does not have an area rug in his room - all the better for block and lego building. I vacuum when he is not around.

 

Per his allergist: wash all bedding, pillows, stuffed animals weekly in hot water. Then use the allergen covers. Replace any curtains with pull down shades. If you're buying vinyl shades, let them off gas somewhere away from the kiddo for a few days before hanging.

 

Keep clutter contained so dusting and cleaning is easier.

 

We have pets, so DS has a gate in front of his room so the dogs don't go in his room.

 

It's hard, especially the weekly washing of all the soft stuff! But all of that has really helped DS.

[In the Rain]

I'd appreciate any advice too. With my teen dd it's very hard to get her to clean her room and then when she does it stirs up ALL that dust and she's miserable.

 

 

 

 

Which HEPA air purifier do you use?

 

In all bedrooms and the office, we have a style of Winix. It might be like this one, but we bought it locally when it was on sale. It is quiet, and has a good rating. We don't use the Plasmawave feature. In the main living area, where we do school, we have the largest size of Rabbit air purifier. They appear to have done a major redesign since we bought ours. In all of the rooms, we've noticed a decrease in dust. We've had two sets of house guests decide to buy air purifiers after seeing an improvement in their allergies. I hope it helps your dd too.

 

IMO, it helps to compare their CADR ratings, which tell you how effectively they clean the air. Here is a good chart for that. You also have to consider room size.

[In the Rain]

Per his allergist: wash all bedding, pillows, stuffed animals weekly in hot water. Then use the allergen covers. Replace any curtains with pull down shades. If you're buying vinyl shades, let them off gas somewhere away from the kiddo for a few days before hanging.

 

Keep clutter contained so dusting and cleaning is easier.

 

I would second all of this. :001_smile::tongue_smilie: And it is a pain. We bought the girls closing desks and cabinets in place of open bookshelves. That helped with the clutter. There were many, many tears shed in the decluttering process, but their rooms are much easier to manage now.

[oldskool]

I would get rid of the carpet or replace it if it is old. My teenage years were miserable because my parents did not take my allergies to dust mites seriously enough. When I moved out my health was dramatically better. I was not able to comfortably visit my house until my parents finally changed the carpet.

[justasque]

I found it helps to have wood or tile or laminate floors rather than carpet, vacuum frequently, wash sheets on hot frequently, use a polyester pillow rather than a feather one (that helped a *lot*), vacuum upholstered furniture (lifting cushions, vacuuming underneath, etc.), keep clutter down, eliminate all mold/mildew, etc. Basic, boring cleaning goes a long, long way.

[justamouse]

:grouphug:

 

We had to live like that for a while.

 

Hard floors, no carpets, no stuffies, clean sheets every week! No knick knacks. None. Bare, bare, bare. That way you can just wash it all down.

 

Once we ripped out the carpets, my kids had a total turnaround concerning allergies.

Edited September 24, 2012 by justamouse

[PrincessMommy]

In all bedrooms and the office, we have a style of Winix. It might be like this one, but we bought it locally when it was on sale. It is quiet, and has a good rating. We don't use the Plasmawave feature. In the main living area, where we do school, we have the largest size of Rabbit air purifier. They appear to have done a major redesign since we bought ours. In all of the rooms, we've noticed a decrease in dust. We've had two sets of house guests decide to buy air purifiers after seeing an improvement in their allergies. I hope it helps your dd too.

 

IMO, it helps to compare their CADR ratings, which tell you how effectively they clean the air. Here is a good chart for that. You also have to consider room size.

 

 

Thank you for the links. They are helpful.

[PrincessMommy]

Juliana - I have a question concerning the Winix. The model you shared says it's for a large room up to 350 sqft. My daughter's room no where near that size. Is that the size purifier you have?

 

I noticed that on the rating system they are were all rated using the same size room (can't find what size the room was though) - so the ones designated for a smaller room have lower ratings than those with larger size rooms (obviously). It makes me wonder about the system.

[In the Rain]

Juliana - I have a question concerning the Winix. The model you shared says it's for a large room up to 350 sqft. My daughter's room no where near that size. Is that the size purifier you have?

 

I noticed that on the rating system they are were all rated using the same size room (can't find what size the room was though) - so the ones designated for a smaller room have lower ratings than those with larger size rooms (obviously). It makes me wonder about the system.

 

The CADR system testing chamber is 1008 cubic ft. You are right that systems for larger rooms generally have higher numbers. You want higher numbers though. The webpage I linked lists several limitations of the system.

 

The purifiers we have are oversized for the rooms they are in. I think that enables them to run effectively at the lowest setting, which is silent. We run these at the silent level during the day, and I turn mine up at night for the white noise. The Rabbit is also nearly silent. When we vacuum or dust, we turn the purifiers to their highest setting. One thing you want to consider is how noisy they are. The two Honeywells we bought at Home Depot were so loud we had to return them. They had lower CADR numbers than the quieter Winix units we ended up with.

 

I don't know how to word this articulately, but I read somewhere that if your allergies are severe, you want an oversized air purifier. It turns over the air in the room faster, and more often, therefore making it cleaner. Since we are running the purifiers primarily at their lowest settings, it is especially good that they can move larger amounts of air. Does that make sense?

 

My 10yo has severe allergies, and is at high risk for asthma. The doctor gave us a short list of things to do to prevent the allergies from turning into asthma. Air purifiers were on that list. They are an expensive initial investment, but easier than most of the other steps. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm certainly no expert about air purifiers. :tongue_smilie: I'm just trying desperately to help my family's allergies. The Blue Air that Spryte mentioned, and the Rabbit are the two brands I've heard the most positive press about. We just couldn't afford 6 of them. :001_huh: Due to my family's extreme allergic reaction to TX, we now need 6 air purifiers. :glare:

 

ETA: I didn't actually answer your question. Yes, I think that is the size we have. My dds have bedrooms that are 10x11, but I think their purifier is for a 350 sq ft room. My novel above explains why. ;)

Edited September 24, 2012 by Julianna

[PrincessMommy]

The CADR system testing chamber is 1008 cubic ft. You are right that systems for larger rooms generally have higher numbers. You want higher numbers though. The webpage I linked lists several limitations of the system.

 

The purifiers we have are oversized for the rooms they are in. I think that enables them to run effectively at the lowest setting, which is silent. We run these at the silent level during the day, and I turn mine up at night for the white noise. The Rabbit is also nearly silent. When we vacuum or dust, we turn the purifiers to their highest setting. One thing you want to consider is how noisy they are. The two Honeywells we bought at Home Depot were so loud we had to return them. They had lower CADR numbers than the quieter Winix units we ended up with.

 

I don't know how to word this articulately, but I read somewhere that if your allergies are severe, you want an oversized air purifier. It turns over the air in the room faster, and more often, therefore making it cleaner. Since we are running the purifiers primarily at their lowest settings, it is especially good that they can move larger amounts of air. Does that make sense?

 

My 10yo has severe allergies, and is at high risk for asthma. The doctor gave us a short list of things to do to prevent the allergies from turning into asthma. Air purifiers were on that list. They are an expensive initial investment, but easier than most of the other steps. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm certainly no expert about air purifiers. :tongue_smilie: I'm just trying desperately to help my family's allergies. The Blue Air that Spryte mentioned, and the Rabbit are the two brands I've heard the most positive press about. We just couldn't afford 6 of them. :001_huh: Due to my family's extreme allergic reaction to TX, we now need 6 air purifiers. :glare:

 

ETA: I didn't actually answer your question. Yes, I think that is the size we have. My dds have bedrooms that are 10x11, but I think their purifier is for a 350 sq ft room. My novel above explains why. ;)

 

No you actually helped a lot. These are some of the things I'm figuring out too.

 

Through the sites you gave me I found this site:

 

http://www.air-purifier-power.com/

 

This guy's reviews are very thorough and helpful too.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Thank you.

 

Replacing or taking up carbet is not an option since we rent, but something to consider when we move. Her allergist said curtains instead of blinds since they can be washed.

 

The covered pillow was an old one, so it had plenty of allergen to release when the allergy cover was removed. If i had known that she wanted the pillow from my father, i would have done it for her outside. I didn't know she was doing it.

 

She has lots of sheets around her room and i will have to talk to her about that. She has sheets under her bed for cuddling (low loft bed), a sheet covering the entrance to her under bed space, a sheet covering an ottoman because it looks better (to her), etc. I will have a talk with her later today, and i will go clean her room since i *know* that she is severe.

 

I will ask my father to get an air purifier for her room. Since her room is soooo small, i will just let him pick out anything he wants. Something will be better than nothing.

[In the Rain]

Thank you.

 

Replacing or taking up carbet is not an option since we rent, but something to consider when we move. Her allergist said curtains instead of blinds since they can be washed.

 

The covered pillow was an old one, so it had plenty of allergen to release when the allergy cover was removed. If i had known that she wanted the pillow from my father, i would have done it for her outside. I didn't know she was doing it.

 

She has lots of sheets around her room and i will have to talk to her about that. She has sheets under her bed for cuddling (low loft bed), a sheet covering the entrance to her under bed space, a sheet covering an ottoman because it looks better (to her), etc. I will have a talk with her later today, and i will go clean her room since i *know* that she is severe.

 

I will ask my father to get an air purifier for her room. Since her room is soooo small, i will just let him pick out anything he wants. Something will be better than nothing.

 

We've done okay keeping our carpet. We vacuum with a HEPA vacuum once a week. We have curtains and blinds. I vacuum the curtains too. The sheets around your dd's room should be fine. They are easy to wash! Just toss them in once a week in hot water.

 

If your dd has asthma, just make sure she doesn't end up with a purifier that is emitting ozone. It makes some asthmatics have flare-ups.

 

Good luck cleaning your dd's room. :grouphug: I hate that job. The tears! The drama! :rolleyes: